Vandergrift man sentenced for break-in
Dec. 9—A Vandergrift man will serve up to five years in prison for an incident in which police said he threatened to kill himself.
Justin Danjou, 23, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count of criminal trespassing and a misdemeanor offense of unlawful restraint after police said he broke into a Markle Road home in Allegheny Township on Aug. 13, 2019.
According to court records, a juvenile told police Danjou came into her bedroom through a window late at night and prevented her from leaving to seek help from another adult in the home. Police said the juvenile recorded a video of Danjou as he sat on a dresser, held scissors to his neck and claimed he wanted to die.
Danjou later fled through the same window after police were eventually called, officials said.
In court on Wednesday, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio sentenced Danjou to serve 2 to 5 years in prison.
Danjou was arrested in mid January 2020 and remained in custody for more than six months before he was released on bail. He was given credit for time served and ordered to report to the Westmoreland County Prison on Dec. 17 to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
Burglary, simple assault and loitering charges were dismissed.
In a separate case, Danjou pleaded guilty to fleeing from police, a drug offense and tampering with evidence in connection with an incident on Jan. 21, 2020 in Armstrong County.
Police said they were called to a convenience store for a man who was out of control and fled from officers as they pursued him on foot later that night near Vandergrift. The judge ordered Danjou to serve a 1 to 2 year concurrent prison sentence in that case.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
